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State of Arkansas 1
93rd General Assembly 2
Fiscal Session, 2022 SR 13 3
4
By: Senator Rapert 5
6
SENATE RESOLUTION 7
TO AUTHORIZE THE INT RODUCTION OF A NONAP PROPRIATION 8
BILL TO ENACT THE AR KANSAS HUMAN HEARTBE AT AND HUMAN 9
LIFE CIVIL JUSTICE A CT, REGULATE ABORTIO N IN 10
ARKANSAS, AND SAVE T HE LIVES OF UNBORN C HILDREN AND 11
PROTECT THE HEALTH O F WOMEN THROUGH CIVI L LIABILITY 12
FOR VIOLATIONS OF ABOR TION LAWS. 13
14
15
Subtitle 16
TO AUTHORIZE THE INTRODUCTION OF A 17
NONAPPROPRIATION BILL TO ENACT THE 18
ARKANSAS HUMAN HEARTBEAT AND HUMAN LIFE 19
CIVIL JUSTICE ACT TO SAVE THE LIVES OF 20
UNBORN CHILDREN AND PROTECT THE HEALTH OF 21
WOMEN THROUGH CIVIL LIABILITY. 22
23
24
BE IT RESOLVED BY THE SENATE OF THE NINETY -THIRD GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE 25
STATE OF ARKANSAS: 26
27
THAT Representative Bentley is authorized to introduce a bill which as 28
introduced will read substantially as follows: 29
30
"Title 31
AN ACT TO CREATE THE ARKANSAS HUMAN HEARTBEAT AND HUMAN LIFE CIVIL JUSTICE 32
ACT; TO REGULATE ABORTION IN ARKANSAS; TO SAVE THE LIVES OF UNBORN CHILDREN 33
AND PROTECT THE HEALTH OF WOMEN THROUGH CIVIL LIABILITY FOR VIOLATIONS OF 34
ABORTION LAWS; TO DECLARE AN EM ERGENCY; AND FOR OTHER PURPOSES. 35
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Subtitle 1
TO CREATE THE ARKANSAS HUMAN HEARTBEAT AND HUMAN LIFE CIVIL JUSTICE ACT; TO 2
SAVE THE LIVES OF UNBORN CHILDREN AND PROTECT THE HEALTH OF WOMEN THROUGH 3
CIVIL LIABILITY; AND TO DECLARE AN EMERGENCY. 4
5
BE IT ENACTED BY THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF ARKANSAS: 6
7
SECTION 1. Arkansas Code Title 20, Chapter 16, is amended to add an 8
additional subchapter to read as follows: 9
Subchapter 26 — Arkansas Human Heartbeat and Human Life Civil Justice Act 10
11
20-16-2601. Title. 12
This subchapter shall be known and may be cited as the "Arkansas Human 13
Heartbeat and Human Life Civil Justice Act". 14
15
20-16-2602. Legislative findings. 16
(a) The General Assembly finds that: 17
(1) It is time for the United States Supreme Court to redress 18
and correct the grave injustice against humanity which is being perpetuated 19
by its decisions in Roe v. Wade, Doe v. Bolton, and Planned Parenthood v. 20
Casey; 21
(2) The United States Supreme Court committed a grave injustice 22
against humanity in t he Dred Scott decision by denying personhood to a class 23
of human beings, African Americans; 24
(3) The United States Supreme Court also committed a grave 25
injustice against humanity by upholding the “separate but equal” doctrine in 26
Plessy v. Ferguson, which withdrew legal protection from a class of human 27
beings who were persons under the United States Constitution, African 28
Americans; 29
(4) An injustice against humanity occurs when a government 30
withdraws legal protection from a class of human beings, resulti ng in severe 31
deprivation of their rights, up to and including death; 32
(5) In Brown v. Board of Education, the United States Supreme 33
Court corrected its own grave injustice against humanity created in Plessy v. 34
Ferguson by overruling and abolishing the fifty-eight-year-old “separate but 35
equal” doctrine, thus giving equal legal rights to African Americans; 36 SR13
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(6) Under the doctrine of stare decisis, the three (3) abortion 1
cases mentioned in subdivision (a)(1) of this section meet the test for when 2
a case should be overturned by the United States Supreme Court because of 3
significant changes in facts or laws, including without limitation the 4
following: 5
(A) The cases have not been accepted by scholars, judges, 6
and the American people, evidenced by the fac t that these cases are still the 7
most intensely controversial cases in American history and at the present 8
time; 9
(B) New scientific advances have demonstrated since 1973 10
that life begins at the moment of conception and that the child in a woman's 11
womb is a human being; 12
(C) Scientific evidence and personal testimonies document 13
the massive harm that abortion causes to women; 14
(D) The laws in all fifty (50) states have now changed 15
through “Safe Haven” laws to eliminate all burdens of child care from women 16
who do not want to care for a child; and 17
(E) Public attitudes favoring adoption have created a 18
culture of adoption in the United States, with many families waiting long 19
periods of time to adopt newborn infants; 20
(7) Before the United States Su preme Court decision of Roe v. 21
Wade, Arkansas had already enacted prohibitions on abortions under § 5 -61-101 22
et seq., and authorized the refusal to perform, participate, consent, or 23
submit to an abortion under § 20 -16-601; 24
(8) Arkansas Constitution, Ame ndment 68, states that "[t]he 25
policy of Arkansas is to protect the life of every unborn child from 26
conception until birth" and that "no public funds will be used to pay for any 27
abortion, except to save the mother's life"; 28
(9) Arkansas passed the Arkansa s Human Heartbeat Protection Act, 29
§ 20-16-1301 et seq., in 2013, which shows the will of the Arkansas people to 30
save the lives of unborn children; 31
(10) Arkansas has continued to pass additional legislation in 32
2015, 2017, 2019, and 2021 that further show s the will of the Arkansas people 33
to save the lives of unborn children; 34
(11)(A) Since the decision of Roe v. Wade, approximately sixty -35
two million five hundred two thousand nine hundred four (62,502,904) 36 SR13
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abortions have ended the lives of unborn children . 1
(B) In 2015, six hundred thirty -eight thousand one hundred 2
sixty-nine (638,169) legal induced abortions were reported to the Centers for 3
Disease Control and Prevention from forty -nine (49) reporting areas in the 4
United States. 5
(C) The Department of Health reports that two thousand 6
nine hundred sixty-three (2,963) abortions took place in Arkansas during 7
2019, including abortions performed on out -of-state residents; 8
(12) Arkansas has a compelling interest from the outset of a 9
woman's pregnancy in protecting the health of the woman and life of an unborn 10
child; and 11
(13) The State of Arkansas urgently pleads with the United 12
States Supreme Court to do the right thing, as they did in one of the United 13
States Supreme Court's greatest cases, Brown v. Board of Education, which 14
overturned a fifty-eight-year-old precedent of the United States, and 15
reverse, cancel, overturn, and annul Roe v. Wade, Doe v. Bolton, and Planned 16
Parenthood v. Casey. 17
(b) It is the intent of this subchapter to ensure that abort ion in 18
Arkansas is abolished and to establish civil liability for the violation of 19
abortion laws in order to protect the lives of unborn children. 20
21
20-16-2603. Definitions. 22
As used in this subchapter: 23
(1)(A) “Abortion” means the act of using, prescri bing, 24
administering, procuring, or selling of any instrument, medicine, drug, or 25
any other substance, device, or means with the purpose to terminate the 26
pregnancy of a woman, with knowledge that the termination by any of those 27
means will with reasonable li kelihood cause the death of an unborn child. 28
(B) An act under subdivision (1)(A) of this section is not 29
an abortion if the act is performed with the purpose to: 30
(i) Save the life or preserve the health of the 31
unborn child; 32
(ii) Remove a dead unborn child caused by 33
spontaneous abortion; or 34
(iii) Remove an ectopic pregnancy; 35
(2) "Entity" means a corporation, partnership, limited liability 36 SR13
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company, association, joint venture, public corporation, any other legal or 1
commercial entity, fiduc iary, or any organized group of persons whether 2
incorporated or not, including without limitation a church or religious 3
organization; 4
(3) “Fertilization” means the fusion of a human spermatozoon 5
with a human ovum; 6
(4) “Medical emergency” means a cond ition in which an abortion 7
is necessary to preserve the life of a pregnant woman whose life is 8
endangered by a physical disorder, physical illness, or physical injury, 9
including a life-endangering physical condition caused by or arising from the 10
pregnancy itself; and 11
(5) “Unborn child” means an individual organism of the species 12
Homo sapiens from fertilization until live birth. 13
14
20-16-2604. Prohibition. 15
(a) A person or entity shall not purposely perform or attempt to 16
perform an abortion except to save the life of a pregnant woman in a medical 17
emergency. 18
(b) This section does not: 19
(1) Authorize the charging or conviction of a woman with any 20
criminal offense in the death of her own unborn child; 21
(2) Permit a civil liability to be assessed aga inst a woman upon 22
whom an abortion is performed in violation of this subchapter; or 23
(3) Prohibit the sale, use, prescription, or administration of a 24
contraceptive measure, drug, or chemical if the contraceptive measure, drug, 25
or chemical is administered before the time when a pregnancy could be 26
determined through conventional medical testing and if the contraceptive 27
measure, drug, or chemical is sold, used, prescribed, or administered in 28
accordance with manufacturer instructions. 29
(c) It is an affirmative defense under this section if a licensed 30
physician provides medical treatment to a pregnant woman that results in the 31
accidental or unintentional physical injury or death to the unborn child. 32
33
20-16-2605. Exemption for preemption and intergov ernmental immunity. 34
The prohibition in § 20 -16-2604 shall not apply to an abortion 35
performed at the behest of federal agencies, contractors, or employees that 36 SR13
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are carrying out duties under federal law, if the prohibition on the abortion 1
would violate the doctrines of preemption or intergovernmental immunity. 2
3
20-16-2606. Limitation on public enforcement. 4
(a) Notwithstanding any other law, the requirements of this subchapter 5
shall be enforced exclusively through the private civil actions described in 6
§ 20-16-2607. 7
(b) A direct or indirect enforcement of this subchapter may not be 8
taken or threatened by the state, a political subdivision, a district or 9
county attorney, or an executive or administrative officer or employee of 10
this state or a political su bdivision against any person or entity. 11
(c) A violation of this subchapter may not be used to justify or 12
trigger the enforcement of any other law, except as provided in § 20 -16-2607. 13
14
20-16-2607. Civil liability. 15
(a) Any person or entity, other than the state, a political 16
subdivision of the state, or an officer or employee of a state or local 17
governmental entity in this state, may bring a civil action against any 18
person or entity who: 19
(1) Performs or induces an abortion in violation of this 20
subchapter; 21
(2) Knowingly engages in conduct that aids or abets the 22
performance or inducement of an abortion, including paying for or reimbursing 23
the costs of an abortion through insurance or otherwise, if the abortion is 24
performed or induced in violation of t his subchapter, regardless of whether 25
the person or entity knew or should have known that the abortion would be 26
performed or induced in violation of this subchapter; or 27
(3) Intends to engage in the conduct described in subdivision 28
(a)(1) of this section or subdivision (a)(2) of this section. 29
(b) If a claimant prevails in an action brought under this section, 30
the court shall award: 31
(1) Injunctive relief sufficient to prevent the defendant from 32
violating this subchapter or engaging in acts that aid or abet violations of 33
this subchapter; 34
(2) Statutory damages in an amount of not less than ten thousand 35
dollars ($10,000) for each abortion that the defendant performed or induced 36 SR13
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in violation of this subchapter, and for each abortion performed or induced 1
or aided or abetted in violation of this subchapter; 2
(3) Nominal and compensatory damages if the plaintiff has 3
suffered harm from the defendant's conduct, including without limitation loss 4
of consortium and emotional distress; and 5
(4) Costs and attorney's fees. 6
(c) Notwithstanding subsection (b) of this section, a court may not 7
award relief under this section in response to a violation of subdivision 8
(a)(1) of this section or subdivision (a)(2) of this section if the defendant 9
demonstrates that the defendant previously paid the full amount of statutory 10
damages under subdivision (b)(2) of this section in a previous action for 11
that particular violation of this subchapter, or for the particular conduct 12
that aided or abetted an abortion performed or ind uced in violation of this 13
subchapter. 14
(d) Notwithstanding any other law, a person or entity may bring an 15
action under this section not later than the third anniversary after the date 16
the cause of action accrues. 17
(e) Notwithstanding any other law, the f ollowing are not a defense to 18
an action brought under this section: 19
(1) Ignorance or mistake of law; 20
(2) A defendant's belief that the requirements or provisions of 21
this subchapter are or were unconstitutional; 22
(3) A defendant's reliance on any co urt decision that has been 23
overruled on appeal or by a subsequent court, even if that court decision has 24
not been overruled when the defendant violated this subchapter; 25
(4) A defendant's reliance on any state or federal court 26
decision that is not bindin g on the court in which the action has been 27
brought; 28
(5) Nonmutual issue preclusion or nonmutual claim preclusion; 29
(6) The consent of the unborn child's mother to the abortion; or 30
(7) Any claim that the enforcement of this subchapter or the 31
imposition of civil liability against the defendant will violate the 32
constitutional rights of third parties, except as provided by § 20 -16-2608. 33
(f)(1) It is an affirmative defense if: 34
(A) A person or entity sued under subdivision (a)(2) of 35
this section reasonably believed, after conducting a reasonable 36 SR13
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investigation, that the person or entity performing or inducing the abortion 1
had complied or would comply with every requirement and provision of this 2
subchapter; or 3
(B) A person or entity sued under sub division (a)(3) of 4
this section reasonably believed, after conducting a reasonable 5
investigation, that the person or entity performing or inducing the abortion 6
would comply with every requirement and provision of this subchapter. 7
(2) The defendant has t he burden of proving an affirmative 8
defense under subdivision (f)(1)(A) of this section or subdivision (f)(1)(B) 9
of this section by a preponderance of the evidence. 10
(g) This section does not impose liability on any speech or conduct 11
protected by the Firs t Amendment of the United States Constitution, as made 12
applicable to the states through the United States Supreme Court's 13
interpretation of the Fourteenth Amendment of the United States Constitution, 14
or by Arkansas Constitution, Article 2, § 6. 15
(h)(1) Notwithstanding any other law, neither the state, nor any of 16
its political subdivisions, nor any district or county attorney, nor any 17
executive or administrative officer or employee of this state or a political 18
subdivision may act in concert or participation with anyone who brings suit 19
under this section, nor may they intervene in any action brought under this 20
section. 21
(2) This subsection does not prohibit a person or entity 22
described in subsection (h)(1) of this section from filing an amicus curiae 23
brief in the action if that person or entity does not act in concert or 24
participate with the plaintiff or plaintiffs who sue under this section. 25
(i) Notwithstanding any other law, including § 16 -22-309, a court may 26
not award costs or attorney's fees under the Arkansas Rules of Civil 27
Procedure or any other law to a defendant in an action brought under this 28
section. 29
(j) Notwithstanding any other law, a civil action under this section 30
may not be brought by a person who impregnated the woman who obtained an 31
abortion through an act of rape, sexual assault, incest, or any other act 32
prohibited under Title 5, Chapter 14. 33
(k) Notwithstanding any other law, a civil action under this section 34
may not be brought against a person or entity that performed or aided or 35
abetted an abortion at the behest of federal agencies, contractors, or 36 SR13
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employees that are carrying out duties under federal law if the prohibition 1
on the abortion would violate the doctrines of preemption or 2
intergovernmental immunity. 3
(l) Notwithstanding an y other law, a civil action under this 4
section may not be brought against a common carrier who transports a pregnant 5
woman to an abortion provider if the common carrier is unaware that the woman 6
intends to abort her unborn child. 7
8
20-16-2608. Civil liability — Defenses. 9
(a) A defendant against whom an action is brought under § 20 -16-2607 10
may assert an affirmative defense to liability under this section if: 11
(1) The defendant has standing to assert the rights of a woman 12
or a group of women seeking to o btain an abortion under the tests for third -13
party standing established by the United States Supreme Court; and 14
(2) The imposition of civil liability on the defendant will 15
result in an undue burden on that abortion -seeking woman or group of 16
abortion-seeking women. 17
(b) The defendant shall bear the burden of proving the affirmative 18
defense in subsection (a) of this section by a preponderance of the evidence. 19
(c) The affirmative defense under subsection (a) of this section is 20
not available if the United States Supreme Court overrules Roe v. Wade, 410 21
U.S. 113 (1973), or Planned Parenthood v. Casey, 505 U.S. 833 (1992), 22
regardless of whether the conduct on which the cause of action is based under 23
§ 20-16-2607 occurred before the United States Supreme Court overruled either 24
of those decisions. 25
(d)(1) This section or subchapter does not in any way limit or 26
preclude a defendant from asserting the defendant’s personal constitutional 27
rights as a defense to liability under § 20 -16-2607. 28
(2) A court may not award relief under § 20 -16-2607 if the 29
conduct for which the defendant has been sued was an exercise of state or 30
federal constitutional rights that personally belong to the defendant. 31
(e) This section or subchapter does not in any way limit or preclude a 32
defendant from asserting the unconstitutionality of any provision of Arkansas 33
law as a defense to liability under this subchapter. 34
35
20-16-2609. Civil liability — Venue. 36 SR13
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(a) Notwithstanding any other law, a civil action brought under § 20 -1
16-2607 shall be brought in: 2
(1) The county in which all or a substantial part of the events 3
or omissions giving rise to the claim occurred; 4
(2) The county of residence for any one (1) of the natural 5
person defendants at the time the cause of action accrued; 6
(3) The county of the principal office in this state of any one 7
(1) of the defendants that is not a natural person; or 8
(4) The county of residence for the claimant if the claimant is 9
a natural person residing in this state. 10
(b) If a civil action is bro ught under § 20-16-2607 in any one (1) of 11
the venues described in subsection (a) of this section, the action shall not 12
be transferred to a different venue without the written consent of all 13
parties. 14
15
20-16-2610. Sovereign, governmental, and official immu nity preserved — 16
Limits on jurisdiction. 17
(a) Notwithstanding any other law, the State of Arkansas shall have 18
sovereign immunity, each of its political subdivisions shall have 19
governmental immunity, and each officer and employee of this state or a 20
political subdivision shall have official immunity in any action, claim, or 21
counterclaim or any type of legal or equitable action that challenges the 22
validity of any provision or application of this subchapter, on 23
constitutional grounds or otherwise, or that seek s to prevent or enjoin the 24
State of Arkansas, its political subdivisions, or any officer or employee of 25
this state or a political subdivision from enforcing any provision or 26
application of this subchapter, unless that immunity has been abrogated or 27
preempted by federal law in a manner consistent with the United States 28
Constitution. 29
(b) Notwithstanding any other law, a provision of state law may not be 30
construed to waive or abrogate an immunity described by subsection (a) of 31
this section unless it expressl y waives immunity by specific reference to 32
this section. 33
(c) Notwithstanding any other law, an attorney representing the state, 34
a political subdivision of the state, or any officer or employee of the state 35
or a political subdivision of the state is not a uthorized or permitted to 36 SR13
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waive an immunity described in this section or take any action that would 1
result in a waiver of the immunity described in this section. 2
(d) Notwithstanding any other law, a court of this state shall not 3
have jurisdiction to cons ider any action, claim, or counterclaim that seeks 4
declaratory or injunctive relief to prevent the state, a political 5
subdivision of the state, any officer or employee of the state or a political 6
subdivision of the state, or any person or entity from enfor cing any 7
provision or application of this subchapter or from filing a civil action 8
under this subchapter. 9
(e) This section or subchapter shall not be construed to prevent a 10
litigant from asserting the invalidity or unconstitutionality of any 11
provision or application of this subchapter as a defense to any action, 12
claim, or counterclaim brought against the litigant. 13
14
20-16-2611. Award of attorney's fees in actions challenging abortion 15
laws. 16
(a) Notwithstanding any other law, any person, including an ent ity, 17
attorney, or law firm, that seeks declaratory or injunctive relief to prevent 18
this state, a political subdivision of this state, any governmental entity or 19
public official in this state, or any person or entity in this state from 20
enforcing any statute , ordinance, rule, regulation, or any other type of law 21
that regulates or restricts abortion or that limits taxpayer funding for 22
individuals or entities that perform or promote abortions, in any state or 23
federal court, or that represents any litigant seeki ng such relief in any 24
state or federal court, is jointly and severally liable to pay the costs and 25
attorney's fees of the prevailing party. 26
(b) For purposes of this section, a party is considered a prevailing 27
party if a state or federal court: 28
(1) Dismisses any claim or cause of action brought against the 29
party that seeks the declaratory or injunctive relief described in subsection 30
(a) of this section, regardless of the reason for the dismissal; or 31
(2) Enters judgment in the party's favor on any suc h claim or 32
cause of action. 33
(c) Regardless of whether a prevailing party sought to recover costs 34
or attorney's fees in the underlying action, a prevailing party under this 35
section may bring a civil action to recover costs and attorney's fees against 36 SR13
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a person, including an entity, attorney, or law firm, that sought declaratory 1
or injunctive relief described in subsection (a) of this section not later 2
than three (3) years after the date on which, as applicable: 3
(1) The dismissal or judgment described in subsection (b) of 4
this section becomes final on the conclusion of appellate review; or 5
(2) The time for seeking appellate review expires. 6
(d) It is not a defense to an action brought under subsection (c) of 7
this section that: 8
(1) A prevailing party under this section failed to seek 9
recovery of costs or attorney's fees in the underlying action; 10
(2) The court in the underlying action declined to recognize or 11
enforce the requirements of this section; or 12
(3) The court in the underlying action held that any provisions 13
of this section are invalid, unconstitutional, or preempted by federal law, 14
notwithstanding the doctrines of issue or claim preclusion. 15
16
20-16-2612. Severability. 17
(a) Mindful of Leavitt v. Jane L., 518 U.S. 137 (1996), in which in 18
the context of determining the severability of a state statute regulating 19
abortion the United States Supreme Court held that an explicit statement of 20
legislative intent is controlling, it is the intent of the General Assembly 21
that every provision, section, subsection, sentence, clause, phrase, and word 22
of this subchapter, and every application of the provisions of this 23
subchapter, be severable from each other. 24
(b)(1) If any application of any provision of this subchapter to any 25
person or entity, group of persons or entities, or circumstances is found by 26
a court to be invalid, preempted, unconstitutional, or to impose an undue 27
burden on any woman or group of women seeking an abortion, then the remaining 28
applications of that provision to all other persons or entities and 29
circumstances shall be severed and preserved, and shall remain in effect. 30
(2) All constitutionally valid applications of the provisions of 31
this subchapter, and every application of those provisions that can be 32
enforced without imposing an undue burden on women seeking abortions, shall 33
be severed from any applications that a court finds to be invalid, preempted, 34
unconstitutional, or to impose an undue burden on women seeking abortions, 35
and the valid applications shall remain in force, becaus e it is the General 36 SR13
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Assembly's intent and priority that the valid applications be allowed to 1
stand alone. 2
(3) Even if a reviewing court finds that a provision of this 3
subchapter imposes an undue burden in a large or substantial fraction of 4
relevant cases, the applications that do not present an undue burden shall be 5
severed from the remaining applications and shall remain in force, and shall 6
be treated as if the General Assembly had enacted a statute limited to the 7
persons or entities, groups of persons or entities, or circumstances for 8
which the statute's application does not present an undue burden. 9
(c) The General Assembly further declares that it would have enacted 10
this subchapter, and each provision, section, subsection, sentence, clause, 11
phrase, or word, and all constitutional applications of this subchapter, 12
irrespective of the fact that any provision, section, subsection, sentence, 13
clause, phrase, or word, or applications of this subchapter, were to be 14
declared invalid, preempted, unconstitutiona l, or to impose an undue burden. 15
(d) If any provision of this subchapter is found by any court to be 16
unconstitutionally vague, then the applications of that provision that do not 17
present constitutional vagueness problems shall be severed and remain in 18
force consistent with the requirements of subsections (a) -(c) of this 19
section. 20
(e)(1) A court may not decline to enforce the severability 21
requirements of subsections (a) -(d) of this section on the grounds that 22
severance would rewrite the statute or involve the court in legislative or 23
lawmaking activity. 24
(2) A court that declines to enforce or enjoins a state official 25
from enforcing a statutory provision does not rewrite a statute, as the 26
statute contains the same words as before the court's decision. 27
(3) A judicial injunction or declaration of unconstitutionality: 28
(A) Is nothing more than an edict prohibiting enforcement 29
that may subsequently be vacated by a later court if that court has a 30
different understanding of the requirements of the Arkansas Constitution or 31
the United States Constitution; 32
(B) Is not a formal amendment of the language in a 33
statute; and 34
(C) No more rewrites a statute than a decision by the 35
Governor not to enforce a duly enacted statute in a limited and defined set 36 SR13
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of circumstances. 1
(f)(1) If any state or federal court disregards the severability 2
requirements of subsections (a) -(e) of this section, and declares or finds 3
any provision of this subchapter is facially unconstitutional, when there are 4
discrete applications o f that provision that can be enforced against a person 5
or entity, group of persons or entities, or circumstances without violating 6
federal law, the United States Constitution, or the Arkansas Constitution or 7
imposing an undue burden on women seeking aborti ons, then that provision 8
shall be interpreted as if the General Assembly had enacted a provision 9
limited to the persons or entities, groups of persons or entities, or 10
circumstances for which the provision's application will not violate federal 11
law, the United States Constitution, or the Arkansas Constitution or impose 12
an undue burden on women seeking abortions. 13
(2) Every court shall adopt this saving construction of that 14
provision until the court ruling that pronounced the provision facially 15
unconstitutional is vacated or overruled. 16
17
SECTION 2. DO NOT CODIFY. Construction. 18
It is the specific intent of this act that the provisions of this act 19
are supplemental to, cumulative to, and in addition to existing laws, civil 20
or criminal, and shall not be const rued to amend, repeal, or otherwise affect 21
those existing laws, including without limitation: 22
(1) The Arkansas Human Life Protection Act, § 5 -61-301 et seq.; 23
(2) The Arkansas Unborn Child Protection Act, § 5 -61-401 et 24
seq.; 25
(3) Section 20-16-603; 26
(4) Section 20-16-604; 27
(5) Section 20-16-701 et seq.; 28
(6) The Unborn Child Pain Awareness and Prevention Act, § 20 -16-29
1101 et seq.; 30
(7) The Partial-Birth Abortion Ban Act, § 20 -16-1201 et seq.; 31
(8) The Arkansas Human Heartbeat Protection Act, § 20-16-1301 et 32
seq.; 33
(9) The Pain-Capable Unborn Child Protection Act, § 20 -16-1401 34
et seq.; 35
(10) The Abortion-Inducing Drugs Safety Act, § 20 -16-1501 et 36 SR13
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seq.; 1
(11) The Arkansas Unborn Child Protection from Dismemberment 2
Abortion Act, § 20-16-1801 et seq.; 3
(12) The Sex Discrimination by Abortion Prohibition Act, § 20 -4
16-1901 et seq.; 5
(13) The Cherish Act, § 20 -16-2001 et seq.; and 6
(14) The Down Syndrome Discrimination by Abortion Prohibition 7
Act, § 20-16-2101 et seq. 8
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SECTION 3. EMERGENCY CLAUSE. It is found and determined by the 10
General Assembly of the State of Arkansas that legislation in other states 11
has created a situation in which individuals from other states are entering 12
Arkansas seeking abortions, which is burdening the hea lthcare system in this 13
state; that the General Assembly previously enacted legislation in the spring 14
of 2021 to abolish abortions, which has been enjoined; that abortions have 15
increased in this state causing harm to unborn children and the health and 16
safety of pregnant women; and that this act is immediately necessary to 17
protect the lives of unborn children and the health and safety of pregnant 18
women in this state. Therefore, an emergency is declared to exist, and this 19
act being immediately necessary for th e preservation of the public peace, 20
health, and safety shall become effective on: 21
(1) The date of its approval by the Governor; 22
(2) If the bill is neither approved nor vetoed by the Governor, 23
the expiration of the period of time during which the Go vernor may veto the 24
bill; or 25
(3) If the bill is vetoed by the Governor and the veto is 26
overridden, the date the last house overrides the veto. " 27
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